I, Rohit Garg, am working as Consultant in IT Company. I am having an around 5 years of experience in MSSQL server & other Microsoft technologies. I am working as DBA in Microsoft SQL Server from last 5 years in e-Commerce, Telecom, Finance domain. In this tenure, I got a chance of working as Database administrator, Developer and trainer on SQL server 2000 to SQL Server 2012. I am holding Master’s degree in Computer Science along with certification in SQL Server & .Net. I like to learn new things by hand-on experience on regular basis. This journey is so far is delightful & valuable with the addition of wonderful friends.

Anti-virus & SQL Server on one system together are friends not enemies, if configured properly.

Anti-virus are very useful programs from security, audit & venerability detection & removal point of view. But if team managing anti-virus server did not configure anti-virus policies properly then your SQL Server is going to face the problem.

Here, we will discuss the file types that must be in exclusion list of anti-virus scanning policy. In other words, Let anti-virus programs deal with what they do best, and let SQL Server handle what it does best and avoid, at all possible costs, any interaction between the two

1. Binaries: Or the the paths to the actual executable for any of your running SQL Server Services (MSSQL, SQL Server Agent, SSAS, etc). Typically these are found, by default, in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server folder – though this could easily be a different path on many production machines. (And, note, you’ll likely want to make sure that C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server is included in any exclusions as well on x64 machines).

2. SQL Server Error Logs : Not your database log files, but the text files that SQL Server uses to keep its own ‘event logs’ running or up-to-date. (Which, in turn is also different than Windows’ system event logs as well.) By default the path to these files is, in turn, covered in the paths outlined above – or it’s part of the ‘program files’ data associated with your binaries – though you CAN move the location of these logs if desired (as an advanced operation via the startup parameters).)

3. Data And Log Files: Your actual .mdf, .ndf, and .ldf files – or the locations of your data files and log files. (Which you’ll want to make sure get excluded from anything that anti-virus monitors – otherwise creation of new databases, file-growth operations, and other normal ‘stuff’ can/will get blocked by anti-virus operations – which would be fatal in many cases.)

4. Backups: Yes, the path to any of your backups – or backup locations is also something you’ll want to make sure that anti-virus doesn’t monitor.

5. Others: Any other files related to SQL server & for its proper working. Like .TUF, .SS, .TRC etc.